Mountain Province groups vow support to autonomy

By Dexter A. See 

BONTOC, Mountain Province – Various sectors in this province affirmed support to the immediate passage of House Bill 5595 and Senate Bill 3115 that mandate the creation of an autonomous region in the Cordillera.

             

The commitment of support to the renewed quest for regional autonomy being spearheaded by the Regional Development Council in the Cordillera was concretized with the signing of a resolution of support to the passage of both legislative measures after the joint RDC-CAR, provincial government and congressional information and education campaign autonomy held last week at the Ridge Brook Hotel here.

           

The IEC was attended by at least 200 participants composed of provincial officials, municipal mayors, vice-mayors, municipal councilors, provincial line agency heads, representatives from the academe and non-government organizations .

           

Aside from signing a joint resolution of support to HB 5595 and SB 3115, the province’s ten towns, Barlig, Bauko, Besao, Bontoc, Natonin, Paracelis, Sabangan, Sadanga, Sagada and Tadian, will pass separate municipal resolutions expressing support to the passage of the said legislative measures while the different associations, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, League of Vice Mayors of the Philippines, Philippine Councilors League, Association of Barangay Councils and SangguniangKabataan Federation in Mountain Province will submit to the House of Representatives and the Senate their own resolutions pushing for the immediate passage of the Cordillera autonomous bills.

           

Earlier, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Mountain Province led by Vice Gov. Bonifacio Lacwasan, Jr. passed a resolution supporting the renewed quest for regional autonomy and expressing support to the passage of the two pending bills in the House and the Senate creating an autonomous region in the Cordillera.

           

The joint RDC-CAR, provincial government and congressional IEC on autonomy is one of the strategies earlier agreed upon by the local chief executives in order to jumpstart the massive grassroots level IEC on autonomy while awaiting the action of the House and Senate on the two pending autonomy bills.

           

Baguio Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, who served as  speaker during the IEC consultation, urged Cordillerans to collectively and individually impose upon themselves the obligation to educate other Cordillerans to achieve self-rule so that the region will be able to establish its permanent regional identity with more powers to govern the region and control its existing resources.

           

After the joint RDC-CAR, provincial government and congressional IEC consultation on autonomy, the provincial government will now take charge of the province-wide consultations that will be undertaken in the different municipalities and barangays in order to make sure that a huge spectrum of the society will be reached and for them to comprehend the real essence of autonomy and its benefits to the people in the different parts of the region.

           

The consultations are geared towards soliciting the suggestions and recommendations of the people on how to further improve the provisions of the two autonomy bills so that achieving self-governance will translate to the general welfare once it will be passed into law and ratified by the people.

           

Similar to previous consultations in other provinces, the commonly asked questions on the pending autonomy bills is how the autonomous region will survive after the 10-year subsidy period and the guarantee that the Cordillera autonomous region will not be likened to the problems hounding the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

Lacwasan informed participants of the autonomy consultation that he had been supportive of the quest for regional autonomy since the approval of Republic Act  6766 or the first Organic Act and he will continue to support the renewed quest for regional autonomy until the long overdue dream of Cordillerans will be realized.

            

On questions on the fate of the region once the third attempt for autonomy will again fail, Domogan said the Cordillera will continue to remain a special administrative region and temporary in nature pursuant to the ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of Ordelio vs. Comelec and Atitiw vs. Executive Secretary which stated Executive Order No. 220 will still be in full force and effect and with the hope that Congress will be able to pass an autonomy law acceptable to the Cordillerans.

           

Franklin Odsey, provincial administrator, said provincial and municipal officials will exert added effort in trying to hold their own grassroots campaign on autonomy so that they will be able to reach as many of their constituents and educate them on self-governance with the active participation of the private sector.